JJSSQ 


GIFT  OF 


GIFT 
6     1918 


As  a  Reminder  to  Plant  to  Help  Make 
"The  City  Beautiful" 


(FLEUR-DE-LIS) 


What,  When,  Where  and  How  to  Plant    Jj 

%*  ™^J 

v*  and  Subsequent  Care  3$ 


WALTER  STAGER 

Sterling,  Illinois 


The  Quality  Print  Skop,  Sterling,  111. 


TALL  BEARDED  IRIS 

(Fleur-de-lis) 


•r 


INDEX 

Iris — Flower  of  Song- 7 

Origin  of  Name -•<"#•- ^ 

Classification .  . .  .V'l  V;  .'.  ; 21 

Structural  Characteristics : 

Rhizome 23 

Foliage 23 

Flower  Stem 25 

Flower.  . .  .  , 25 

Blooming 27 

Hardiness 28 

Planting: 

Where  to  Plant 29 

How  to  Plant 29 

When  to  Plant 31 

What  to  Plant .  . 31 

Subsequent  Care: 

Cultivation 35 

Diseases  and  Enemies 36 

Propagation : 

Division 37 

Seed 37 

Use: 

For  Planting . 39 

Cut  Flowers ( -r4. 39 

Thatching .  40 

Orris  Root 40 

List  of  Varieties .  .  41 


369778 


FLEUR-DE-LIS 


Blue  of  the  skies, 

Pink  of  sunrise, 

Red  of  the  sunset-glow, 

Purple  so  bold, 

Yellow  of  gold, 

White  of  the  driven  snow; 

Solid  and  dashed, 

Veined  and  splashed, 

Mottled  and  reticulated, 

Suffused,  o'erlaid, 

Bordered  and  rayed — 

All  colors  and  shades  collated. 

Wondrous  flower  of  song  and  story, 
Earthly  rival  of  the  rainbow's  glory, 
Elegant  in  all  its  lines 
As  the  pride  of  tropic  climes, 
Light  and  airy  as  the  fleecy  cloud 
That  can  scarce  the  sunbeams  shroud, 
Hardy,  contented  where'er  it  may  be, 
Sunshine  or  shadow,  in  garden  or  lea, 
Fragrant,  stately  but  replete  with  grace — 
Flora's  lovers  should  all  give  it  place. 

Walter  Stager. 


TALL  BEARDED  IRIS 

(Fleur-de-lis) 


Flower  of  Song— The   Iris   has   long;   been   a   flower   of   song. 
Ever  since  the  early  days  we  find  it  in  the  poets'  lays. 

"Can  bulrushes  but  by  the  river  grow? 
Can  Flags  there  flourish  where  no  waters  flow?" 

Job  VIII,  11,  versified  by  G.  Sandys. 

"Heil  fairer  than  the  Flour-de-lys." 

Furnival:  Hymn  to  the  Virgin. 

"A  Friar  there  was,  a  wantowne  and  a  merye, 

*         *         *         * 

His  nekke  whit  was  as  a  Flour  delys." 

Chaucer:  Canterbury  Tales. 

"Lo!  that  spotless  creature  of  grace, 
so  gentle,  so  small,  so  winsomely  lithe, 
riseth  up  in  her  royal  array — 
a  precious  thing  with  pearls  bedight. 
Favored  mortals  there  might  see 
choicest  pearls  of  sovereign  price, 
when  all  as  fresh  as  a  Fleur-de-lys 
she  came  adown  that  bank." 

Anon.:  Pearl.     (14th  Century.) 

"Behold,  O  man,  that  toilsome  pains  dost  take, 

The  flow'rs,  the  fields,  and  all  that  pleasant  grows, 

*         *         *         * 

The  lily,  lady  of  the  flow'ring  field, 
The  Flower-de-luce,  her  lovely  paramour, 
Bid  thee  to  them  thy  fruitless  labors  yield, 
And  soon  leave  off  this  toilsome  weary  stoure." 
Spenser:     Fairy  Queen. 

The  garden  like  a  lady  fair  was  cut, 
That  lay  as  if  she  slumbered  in  delight, 
And  to  the  open  skies  her  eyes  did  shut; 
The  azure  fields  of  heaven  were  'sembled  right 
In  a  large  round  set  with  flow'rs  of  light; 
The  Flowers-de-Luce  and  the  round  sparks  of  dew 
That  hung  upon  their  azure  leaves,  did  show 
Like  twinkling  stars  that  sparkle  in  the  ev'ning  blue." 
Fletcher. 


A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


"Iris  all  hues,  roses  and  jessamines, 

Reared  high  their  flourished  heads  between,  and  wrought 
Mosaic."  Milton:  P.  L.,  descrip.  Paradise. 

"My  spaniel,  prettiest  of  his  race, 

*         *         *         * 

Now  wantoned  lost  in  Flags  and  reeds, 
Now  starting  into  sight, 
Pursued  the  swallow  o'er  the  meads, 
With  scarce  a  slower  flight." 

Cowper:  Dog  and  Water  Lily. 

"They  entered  now  the  chancel  tall; 
The  darkened  roof  rose  high  aloof 
On  pillars  lofty  and  light  and  small: 
The  key-stone,  that  locked  each  ribbed  aisle, 
Was  a  Fleur-de-lys,  or  a  quatre-feuille." 

Scott:  Lay  of  Last  Minstrel. 

"And  nearer  to  the  river's  trembling  edge 

There   grew   broad   Flag-flowers,    purple   pranked   with 

white, 

And  starry  river-buds  among  the  sedge, 
And  floating  water  lilies  broad  and  bright." 
Shelley:  The  Question. 

"Through  pleasant  banks  the  quiet  stream 
Went  winding  pleasantly; 

*         *         *         * 
The  Flag-flower  blossomed  on  its  side, 

The  willow  tresses  waived, 
The  flowing  current  furrow'd  round 

The  water-lily's  floating  leaf." 

Southey:  Thalaba. 

• 

"Loved  Voyager! 

When  wrapped  in  fancy,  many  a  boyish  day 
I  tracked  his  wanderings  o'er  the  watery  way, 
Roamed  round  the  Aleutian  isles  in  waking  dreams, 
Or  plucked  the  Fleur-de-lys  by  Jesso's  streams." 
Campbell:  La  Perouse. 

"And  on  many  a  level  mead, 

And  shadowing  bluff  that  made  the  banks, 
We  glided  winding  under  ranks 
Of  Iris,  and  the  golden  reed." 

Tennyson:  In  Memoriam. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL" 


"I  have  remembered  when  the  winter  came, 
High  in  my  chamber  in  the  frosty  nights, 
How  in  the  shimmering  noon  of  summer  past 
Some  unrecorded  beam  s^nted  across 
The  upland  pastures  where  the  Johnswort  grew; 
Or  heard,  amid  the  verdure  of  my  mind, 
The  bee's  long  smothered  hum,  on  the  Blue  Flag 
Loitering  amidst  the  mead." 
Thoreau. 

"How  fresh  were  the  Flags  on  the  stone-studded  ridge 
That  rudely  supported  the  narrow  oak  bridge! 
And  that  bridge,  oh!  how  boldly  and  safely  I  ran 
On  the  thin  plank  that  now  I  should  timidly  scan!" 
Eliza  Cook:  Old  Mill-Stream. 

"Lilacs  and  violets — woodbine  and  brier, 
Pond  lilies  drifting  up  from  the  black  mire; 
Long  files  of  Iris — bright  gladiolus, 
Dainty  anemones,  loved  of  Aeolus." 

Wm.  C.  Langdon:  Springtime. 

"Beautiful  lily,  dwelling  by  still  rivers, 

Or  solitary  mere, 

Or  where  the  sluggish  meadow-brook  delivers 
Its  waters  to  the  weir! 

Thou  laughest  at  the  mill,  the  whir  and  worry 

Of  spindle  and  of  loom, 
And  the  great  wheel  that  toils  amid  the  hurry 

And  rushing  of  the  flume. 

Born  in  the  purple,  born  to  joy  and  pleasance, 

Thou  dost  not  toil  nor  spin, 
But  makest  glad  and  radiant  with  thy  presence 

The  meadow  and  the  lin. 

The  wind  blows,  and  uplifts  thy  drooping  banner, 

And  round  thee  throng  and  run 
The  rushes,  the  green  yeomen  of  thy  manor, 

The  outlaws  of  the  sun. 

The  burnished  dragon-fly  is  thine  attendant, 

And  tilts  against  the  field, 
And  down  the  listed  sunbeam  rides  resplendent 

With  steel-blue  mail  and  shield. 


10  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


Thou  art  the  Iris,  fair  among  the  fairest, 

Who,  armed  with  golden  rod 
And  winged  with  the  celestial  azure,  bearest 

The  message  of  some  God. 

Thou  art  the  Muse,  who  far  from  crowded  cities 

Hauntest  the  sylvan  streams, 
Playing  on  pipes  of  reed  the  artless  ditties, 

That  come  to  us  as  dreams. 

O  Flower-de-Luce,  bloom  on,  and  let  the  river 

Linger  to  kiss  thy  feet! 
O  flower  of  song,  bloom  on,  and  make  forever 

The  world  more  fair  and  sweet." 

Longfellow:  Flower-de-Luce. 


"When  thou  was  full  in  spring,  thou  little  sleepy  thing, 
The  Yellow  Flags  that  broider'd  thee  would  stand 
Up  to  their  chins  in  water,  and  full  oft 
We  pulled  them  and  the  other  shining  flowers, 
That  are  all  gone  today." 

Jean  Ingelow:  Song  of  Night  Watches. 


"The  mellow  moonlight,  through  the  deep-blue  gloom, 
Did  all  along  the  dreamy  chamber  pass, 
As  though  it  were  a  little  touched  with  awe 
Of  that  pale  lady,  and  what  else  it  saw — 

Rare  flowers:  narcissi;  Irises,  each  crowned; 

*         *         *         * 

All  pinnacled  in  urns  of  carven  bronze." 
Lord  Lytton:  A  Vision. 

"We  drifted  down,  my  love  and  I, 
Beneath  an  azure  April  sky, 
My  Love  and  I,  my  Love  and  I, 
Just  at  the  hour  of  noon. 

*         *         *         * 

While  purple,  cool,  beneath  the  blue 

Of  that  hot  noontide,  bravely  smiled, 
With  bright  and  iridescent  hue, 
Whole  acres  of  the  Blue  Flag  flower, 

The  breathy  Iris  sweet  and  wild, 
That  floral  savage  unsubdued, 

The  gipsy  April's  gipsy  child." 

Mary  A.  Townsend:  Down  the  Bayou. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  11 


"The  Iris  was  yellow,  the  moon  was  pale, 

In  the  air  it  was  stiller  than  snow, 
There  was  even  light  through  the  vale, 
But  a  vaporous  sheet 
Clung  about  my  feet, 
And  I  dared  no  further  go. 
I  had  passed  the  pond,  I  could  see  the  stile, 
The  path  was  plain  for  more  than  a  mile, 
Yet  I  dared  no  further  go. 

The  Iris-beds  shone  in  my  face,  when,  whist! 

A  noiseless  music  began  to  blow, 
A  music  that  moved  through  the  mist, 
That  had  not  begun, 
Would  never  be  done— 
With  that  music  I  must  go: 

And  I  found  myself  in  the  heart  of  the  tune, 
Wheeling  around  to  the  whirr  of  the  moon, 
With  the  sheets  of  mist  below. 

In  my  hands  how  warm  were  the  little  hands, 

Strange  little  hands  that  I  did  not  know; 
I  did  not  think  of  the  elvan  bands, 
Nor  of  anything 
In  that  whirling  ring — 
Here  a  cock  began  to  crow! 

The  little  hands  dropped  that  had  clung  so  tight, 
And  I  saw  again  by  the  pale  dawnlight 
The  Iris-heads  in  a  row." 

Michael  Field:  Iris. 

"O'er  water-daisies  and  wild  waifs  of  Spring, 

There  where  the  Iris  rears  its  gold-crowned  sheaf 
With  flowering  rush  and  sceptred  arrow-leaf, 
So  have  I  marked  Queen  Dian,  in  bright  ring 
Of  cloud  above  and  wave  below,  take  wing 

And  chase  night's  gloom,  as  thou  the  spirit's  grief." 
Rossetti:  Gracious  Moonlight. 

"I  have  sown  upon  the  fields 

Eyebright  and  Pimpernel, 

*         *         *         * 

King-cup  and  Fleur-de-lys 
Upon  the  marsh  to  meet 
With  Comfrey,  Watermint, 
Loose-strife  and  Meadowsweet." 

Bridges:  The  Idle  Flowers. 


12  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


"Ah!  there's  the  lily,  marble  pale, 
The  bonny  broom,  the  cistus  frail; 
The  rich  sweet  pea,  the  Iris  blue, 
The  larkspur  with  its  peacock  hue; 
All  these  are  fair,  yet  hold  I  will 
That  the  Rose  of  May  is  fairer  still." 

Mary  Howitt:  Rose  of  May. 

"In  their  gowns  of  crinkled  silk, 

Golden-banded,  ranked  in  order,  . 

Brilliant  as  the  sunset  fire  is, 
Black  as  bull's  blood,  white  as  milk. 
Stand  within  our  garden  border 
Troops  of  Iris." 

Susan  0.  Moberly:  Japan  Iris. 

"Then  in  the  valley,  where  the  brook  went  by, 
Silvering  the  ledges  that  it  rippled  from — 
An  isolated  slip  of  fallen  sky 
Epitomizing  heaven  in  its  sum — 
An  Iris  bloomed — blue,  as  if  flower-disguised 

The  gaze  of  Spring  had  there  materialized. 

*         *         *         * 

But  most  of  all,  yea,  it  were  well  for  me, 
Me  and  my  heart,  that  I  forget  that  flower, 
The  blue  wild  Iris,  azure  Fleur-de-lis, 
That  she  and  I  together  found  that  hour. 
Its  recollection  can  but  emphasize 
The  pain  of  loss,  remindful  of  her  eves." 
Cawein:  The  Wild  Iris. 

"But  no  bobolink  of  mine, 
Ever  sang  o'er  mead  so  fine, 
Starred  with  flames  of  every  hue, 
Gold  and  purple,  white  and  blue; 
Painted-cup,  anemone, 
Jacob's  ladder,  Fleur-de-lis— 

John  Burroughs:  Lapland  Long  spur. 

"Oh  beautiful!  beautiful  flower! 
The  ward  of  the  sunbeam  and  shower 
In  garments  of  woven  delight, 
Of  the  sunset,  Aurora  and  light. 
While  over  thy  beauty  there  plays 
Such  blending  of  color  and  shade, 
Such  delicate  tinting  and  rays, 


MAKE  'THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  13 


Well  becoming;  a  heavenly  maid. 
Ethereal  lovely  and  sweet, 
Thy  presence  we  joyously  greet. 

Thy  mother,  fair  Iris,  in  beauty  supreme, 
Took  all  her  rich  fabrics  of  loveliest  sheen, 
The  robes  of  the  rainbow,  flower  garden  of  air, 
Of  bewildering  beauty,  resplendently  fair, 
And  made  for  her  child  such  a  dazzling  dress 
No  daughter  of  royalty  e'er  could  possess." 
Harrison:  The  Iris. 

Origin  of  Name—  The  origin  of  its  name  is  as  fanciful  as  its 
color. 

Ph'ny  wrote  that  "iris"  is  Egyptian  for  "eye"  and  that  the 
name  Iris  signifies  Eye  of  Heaven. 

The  word  "iris"  is  the  Greek  for  "rainbow."  In  Grecian 
'  mythology  Iris,  the  rainbow  personified,  was  one  of  the  minor 
goddesses  and  messenger  of  the  greater  divinities,  particularly  of 
Juno. 

"Meantime,  to  beauteous  Helen,  from  the  skies 
The  various  goddess  of  the  rainbow  flies." 

Homer:  Iliad  (Pope's)  III. 

"Various  Iris,  Jove's  commands  to  bear, 
Speeds  on  the  wings  of  winds  through  liquid  air." 
Homer:  Iliad  (Pope's)  II. 

"Jove  descending  shook  the  Idaean  hills, 
And  down  their  summits  pour'd  a  hundred  rills, 
The  unkindled  lightning  in  his  hand  he  took, 
And  thus  the  many-colour'd  maid  bespoke  : 
'Iris  with  haste  thy  golden  wings  display, 

To  godlike  Hector  this  our  word  convey— 

*         *         *         * 

He  spoke,  and  Iris  at  his  word  obey'd  ; 
On  wings  of  winds  descends  the  various  maid." 
Homer:  Iliad  (Pope's)  XL 

"Hail,  many-colored  messenger,  that  ne'er 
Dost  disobey  the  wife  of  Jupiter; 
Who,  with  thy  saffron  wings,  upon  my  flowers 
Diffusest  honey-drops,  refreshing  showers." 
Shakespeare:  Tempest. 


14  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


"High  Juno  from  the  realms  of  air, 
Secret,  dispatch'd  her  trusty  messenger. 
The  various  goddess  of  the  showery  bow, 
Shot  in  a  whirlwind  to  the  shore  below ; 
To  great  Achilles  at  his  ships  she  came, 

And  thus  began  the  many-colored  dame : 

*  *         *         * 

'Who  sends  thee  goddess,  from  the  ethereal  skies?' 
Achilles  thus.     And  Iris  thus  replies : 
'I  come,  Pelides  from  the  queen  of  Jove 
The  immortal  empress  of  the  realms  above'." 

Homer(  Iliad  (Pope's)  XVIII. 

"Then  Juno,  pitying  her  long  pain, 

And  all  that  agony  of  death, 
Sent  Iris  down  to  part  in  twain 

The  clinging  limbs  and  struggling  breath. 

*         *         *         * 

So  down  from  Heaven  fair  Iris  flies 

On  saffron  wings  impearled  with  dews, 
That  flash  against  the  sunlit  skies 

A  thousand  variegated  hues." 

Virgil:  Aeneid  (Conington's)  IV.  (Death  of  Dido.) 

"The  skies,  from  pole  to  pole,  with  peals  resound, 
And  showers  enlarged,  come  pouring  on  the  ground; 
Then,  clad  in  colors  of  a  various  dye, 
Junonian  Iris  breeds  a  new  supply 
To  feed  the  clouds." 

Ovid:  Metamorphoses,  V. 

"But  light-foot  Iris  brought  it  yester-eve." 
Tennyson:  Oenone. 

. 

She  is  generally  represented  as  using  the  rainbow  as  her  path- 
way from  the  heavens. 

"While  elsewhere  thus  the  war  proceeds, 
Saturnian  Juno  swiftly  speeds 
Her  Iris  from  above 
To  valiant  Turnus: 
And  thus  the  child  of  Thaumas  speaks, 

Heaven's  beauty  flushing  in  her  cheeks: 

*  *         *         * 

E'en  as  she  spoke,  her  wings  she  spread, 
And  skyward  on  her  rainbow  fled." 

Virgil:  Aeneid  (Conington's)  IX. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  15 


"Fell  Juno,  while  before  the  mound 
The  games  perform  their  festal  round, 
Despatches  Iris  from  the  sky 

And  gives  her  wings  of  wind  to  fly. 

*         *         *         * 

Adown  her  bow  of  myriad  dyes, 
Unseen  of  all,  the  maiden  hies." 

Virgil:  Aeneid  (Conington's)  V. 

"Like  as  are  reared  within  a  tender  cloud 
Two  parallel  and  self-same  colored  bows, 
When  Juno  to  her  handmaid  gives  command." 
Dante:  Paradiso. 

"As  large,  as  bright,  as  color'd  as  the  bow 
Of  Iris,  when  unfading  it  doth  show 
Beyond  a  silvery  shower,  was  the  arch 
Through  which  this  Paphian  army  took  its  march 
Into  the  outer  courts  of  Neptune's  state." 
Keats:  Endymion. 

"Is  it  a  dream  again  or  is  it  truth 
This  vision  fair  of  Greece  inhabited? 
A  fairer  sight  than  all  fair  Iris  sees 
Footing  her  airy  arch  of  colors  spun 
From  Ida  to  Olympus,  when  she  stays 
To  look  on  Greece  and  thinks  the  sight  is  fair." 
Bridges:  Prometheus. 

The  legend  runs  that  under  her  footsteps  on  earth  rose  the 
flower  that  bears  her  name. 

"Iris  there  with  humid  bow 
Waters  the  odorous  banks,  that  blow 
Flowers  of  more  mingled  hue 
Than  her  purfled  scarf  can  shew." 
Milton:  Comus. 

"And  still  before  me  in  the  dusky  grass, 
Iris  her  many-colored  scarf  had  drawn." 

Shelley:  Triumph  of  Life. 

"There's  crimson  buds,  and  white  and  blue — 
The  very  rainbow  showers 
Have  turned  to  blossoms  where  they  fell,, 
And  sown  the  earth  with  flowers." 

Hood:  Song-0  Lady. 


16  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


"Flow'rs  over  all  the  field,  of  every  hue 
That  ever  Iris  wore,  luxuriant  grew." 

Cowper:  Elegy  III,  trans,  from  Milton. 

Anciently  her  name  was  given  to  this  genus  on  account  of  the 
bright  and  varied  colors  of  its  flowers — whence  one  of  its  names, 
"The  Rainbow  Flower." 

"Nor  Iris  in  her  glorious  rainbow  clothed 
So  fulgent  as  the  cheerful  gardens  shine 
With  their  bright  offspring,  when  they're  in  their  bloom." 
Columella:  De  Rustica  X. 

Named  for  the  celestial  messenger,  in  flower  language  the  Iris 
signifies  "a  message,"  or  "a  messenger,"  or  sometimes  "ardor" 
or  "my  compliments." 

"To  France,  sweet  Suffolk:  let  me  hear  from  thee; 
For  whereso'er  thou  art  in  this  world's  globe, 
I'll  have  an  Iris  that  shall  find  thee  out." 

Shakespeare:  2  King  Henry  VI. 

The  goldfen  device  which  was  on  the  flag  of  royal  France  as 
far  back  as,  at  least,  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century,  wjien 
Clovis  the  First  was  King  of  France,  is  claimed  by  some  to  have 
been  modeled  after  the  Iris,  and  by  some,  after  the  lily,  and  by 
others,  that  it  is  a  mere  arbitrary  design.  A  story  runs  that 
Clovis  having  taken  a  vow,  when  his  army  was  hard  pressed  in 
battle,  that  he  would  be  baptized  if  successful,  an  angel  brought 
from  heaven  this  token  of  favor  representing  the  triune  Deity. 
At  first  the  figures  were  sprinkled  over  the  surface  and  of  no  fixed 
number,  but  in  the  reign  of  Charles  V,  about  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  they  were  reduced  to  three,  the  mystical 
church  number.  They  have  been  frequently  referred  to  as  the 
"Lilies  of  France,"  and  from  its  resemblance  to  them,  it  is  said, 
the  Iris  was  called  "Fleur-de-lis,"  Flower  of  the  Lily.  Such  use 
of  "Lily"  instead  of  "Iris",  either  through  ignorance  or  disre- 
gard of  the  botanical  distinction,  was  formerly  not  uncommon. 
Thus: 

"What  flower  in  meadow-ground  or  garden  grows 
That  to  the  towering  Lily  doth  not  yield? 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  17 


Go  forth  great  King!  Claim  what  thy  birth  bestows; 
Conquer  the  Gallic  Lily  which  thy  foes 
Dare  to  usurp." 

Wordsworth:  Archbishop  Chichley  to  Henry  V. 

"I  would  I  had  some  flowers  o'  the  spring,  that  might 
Become  your  time  of  day; 

*        lilies  of  all  kinds, 

The  Flower-de-luce  being  one!     O,  these  I  lack, 
To  make  you  garlands  of." 

Shakespeare:  Winter's  Tale. 

A  particularly  noticeable  illustration  of  such  use  is  found  in 
Longfellow's  poem,  "Flower-de-Luce,"  which  is  given  on 


Tradition  also  has  it  that  when  Louis  VII  of  France  joined  the 
expedition  of  the  Crusaders  he  adopted  the  Iris  flower  as  his 
coat  of  arms,  and  that  hence  it  came  to  be  known  as  "Fleur-de- 
Louis,"  (Flower  of  Louis),  subsequently  corrupted  in  English  to 
Flower-de-luce. 

"I  cannot  give  due  action  to  my  words, 
Except  a  sword,  or  scepter,  balance  it. 
A  scepter  shall  it  have,  have  I  a  soul; 
On  which  I'll  toss  the  Fleur-de-luce  of  France." 

Shakespeare:  2  King  Henry  VI. 

"Methought,  upon  the  Neva's  flood 

A  beautiful  Ice  Palace  stood, 

*  *         *         * 

A  light  through  all  the  chambers  flam'd, 
Astonishing  old  Father  Frost, 
Who,  bursting  into  tears,  exclaim'd: 

'A  thaw,  by  Jove  —  we're  lost,  we're  lost!' 

*  *    '     *         * 

Those  Royal  Arms,  that  looked  so  nice, 

Cut  in  the  resplendent  ice  — 

*  *         *         * 

Proud  Prussia's  double  bird  of  prey 
Tame  as  a  spatch  cock,  slunk  away; 
While  —  just  like  France  herself,  when  she 
Proclaims  how  great  her  naval  skill  is  — 
Poor  Louis'  drowning  Fleurs-de-lys 
Imagin'd  themselves  water-lilies." 

Thomas  Moore:  Dissolution  of  the  Holy 
Alliance. 


18  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

"For  a'  that  an'  a'  that, 
Guns,  guillotines,  and  a'  that, 
The  Fleur-de-lis,  that  lost  her  right, 
Is  queen  again  for  a'  that!" 

Scott:  For  a'  that  an'  a'  that. 

According  to  another  account  the  name  "Fleur-de-lis"  owes  its 
origin  to  the  circumstance  that,  according  to  the  account,  a  ford 
over  the  river  Lys  was  indicated  to  a  French  King,  when  hard 
pressed  by  his  enemies,  by  the  abundance  of  a -yellow  flowered 
water-loving  species  of  Iris. 

Some  find  the  origin  of  the  name  in  "delice,"  French  for  "de- 
light"— Fleur-delice,  Flower  of  Delight. 

"Strow  me  the  ground  with  daffadowndillies, 
And  cowslips,  and  kingcups  and  loved  lilies; 
The  pretty  paunce, 
And  the  chevisaunce, 
Shall  match  with  the  fair  Flow'r  delice." 

Spenser:  Shepherd's  Calendar — April. 

Irises  in  the  olden-time  gardens  were  sometimes  known  as 
"Flags,"  a  name  still  common  for  the  marsh-loving  species. 

"The  next  pool  they  came  near  unto 
Was  bare  of  trees;  there  only  grew 
Straight  Flags, 'and  lilies  just  a  few." 

Mrs.  E.  B.  Browning:  Vision  of  Poets. 

"The  Blue-flag,  waving  welcomes  from  the  marsh, 
The  lily  of  the  pond  and  of  the  vale, 
The  daisy,  violet,  and  butter  cup, 
The  elder-berry  and  the  bridal  wreath, 
From  garden,  grove  or  roadside — all  are  cull'd 
And  weaved  in  wreaths  to  deck  the  soldiers'  graves." 
Raymond:  A  Life  in  Song. 

"But  yet  from  out  the  little  hill 
Oozes  the  slender  springlet  still. 
And  shepherd  boys  repair 
To  seek  the  Water-flag  and  rush, 
And  rest  them  by  the  hazel  bush, 
And  plait  their  garlands  fair." 
Scott:  Marmion. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  19 


"From  the  bridge  I  lean'd  to  hear 
The  milldam  rushing  down  with  noise, 
And  see  the  minnows  everywhere 
In  crystal  eddies  glance  and  poise, 
The  tall  Flag-flowers  when  they  sprung 
Below  the  range  of  stepping-stones, 
Or  those  three  chestnuts  near,  that  hung 
In  masses  thick  with  milky  cones." 

Tennyson:  The  Miller's  Daughter. 

"Oh  Darkling  River!         *         *         * 

The  dweller  by  thy  side, 
Who  moored  his  little  boat  upon  thy  beach, 
Though  all  the  waters  that  upbore  it  then 
Have  slid  away  o'er  night,  shall  find,  at  morn, 
Thy  channel  filled  with  waters  freshly  drawn 
From  distant  cliffs,  and  hollows  where  the  rill 
Comes  up  amid  the  Water  flags." 

Bryant:  Night  Journey  of  a  River. 

"How  graceful  climb  those  shadows  on  my  hill! 
I  fancy  these  pure  waters  and  the  Flags 
Know  me,  as  does  my  dog:  we  sympathize." 
Emerson:  Hamatreya. 

"All  night  long  he  sailed  upon  it, 
Sailed  upon  that  sluggish  water, 
Covered  with  its  mould  of  ages, 
Black  with  rotting  water-rushes. 
Rank  with  Flags  and  leaves  of  lilies. 
*  *  *  * 

Then  once  more  Cheemaun  he  patted, 

To  his  birch  canoe  said  'Onward!' 

And  it  stirred  in  all  its  fibres, 

And  with  one  great  bound  of  triumph 

Leaped  across  the  water  lilies, 

Leaped  through  tangled  Flags  and  rushes, 

And  upon  the  beach  before  them 

Dry-shod  landed  Hiawatha." 

Longfellow:  Hiawatha. 

"There  is  a  woodland  witch  who  lies 
With  bloom-bright  limbs  and  beam-bright  eyes, 
Among  the  Water-flags  that  rank 
The  slow  brook's  heron-haunted  bank." 

Cawein:  Poet  and  Nature. 


A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


"Where  waves  the  bulrush  as  the  waters  glide. 
And  yellow  Flag-flowers  deck  the  sunny  side." 
Anon. 

In  the  North  of  France,  the  ridge  of  the  thatched  cottage  is 
given  a  coating  of  clay  the  whole  width  of  the  roof,  to  hold  the 
thatch  and  to  prevent  leaking.  In  this  clay  Irises  are  planted, 
and  their  flowers  sway  in  the  breeze  like  flags,  and  hence,  it  is 
said,  the  name,  Flag.  By  others  it  is  said  that  the  name  was 
given  to  these  plants  on  account  of  their  flat  leaves  which  sway 
in  the  wind.  Another  version  is  that  the  three  drooping  seg- 
ments of  the  flower  were  called  "Flags"  because  like  flags  they 
flutter  in  every  breeze,  and  that  from  this  circumstance  the  name, 
in  time,  was  given  to  the  plant  itself. 

"Sweetest  Iris  beareth  shortest  flagges." 
T.  Moufet. 

The  Iris  has  been  called  "The  Poor  Man's  Orchid,"  and  "Or- 
chid of  the  North,"  and  rightly,  for  it  is  both  cheap  and  hardy, 
and  in  diversity,  delicacy  and  richness  of  color,  in  texture,  and  in 
elegance  of  form  it  rivals  the  choicest  floral  treasures  of  the 
torrid  zone. 

Ruskin  refers  to  the  Iris  as  the  Flower  of  Chivalry — "with  a 
sword  for  its  leaf,  and  a  lily  for  its  heart." 

Iris  florentina,  a  white  flower  much  used  in  church  decora- 
ration,  the  French  call  "/a  flambe  blanche"— The  White  Torch 
of  the  Garden. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  21 


CLASSIFICATION 

The  name  "German"  Iris  has  been  given  to  a  group  of  various 
bearded  species  more  or  less  resembling  each  other  in  foliage, 
shape  of  flower,  and,  generally,  in  root  system.  This  name, 
however,  seems  to  be  a  misnomer,  for  not  one  of  the  species  in- 
cluded in  the  group  has  ever  been  known  to  be  native  to  Germany. 

Sometimes  the  dwarf  bearded  Irises  are  included  under  the 
head  of  German  Iris,  but  it  is  only  the  taller  bearded  species 
which  are  here  considered. 

Generally  it  is  the  hybrid  varieties  of  these  tall  growing  species, 
which  are  very  numerous,  which  are  offered  by  plantsmen.  Most 
of  the  varieties  of  each  species  are  characterized  by  the  same 
general  color-scheme,  but  in  some  there  is  a  very  marked  devia- 
tion from  it.  The  most  extensive  of  these  species',  and  the  typical 
characteristics  of  the  most  of  the  varieties  of  each,  are : 

Germanica  (of  Germany)  Section — The  type  of  the  group.  Flower 
early  (May)  and  abudantly.  Generally  shades  of  blue  or 
purple. 

Amoena  (pleasing)  Section — Standards  of  most  varieties  white; 
falls  usually  of  some  shade  of  blue  or  violet,  but  frequently 
with  more  or  less  white. 

Neglecta  (neglected)  Section — Standards  usually  range  from  lav- 
ender to  purple ;  falls  of  a  darker  shade. 

Pallida  (pale)  Section — Most  varieties  very  tall,  strong  growers; 
wide  foliage;  flowers  of  the  largest.  Very  handsome  shades, 
both  light  and  dark,  of  blue,  lavender  and  purple,  and  num- 
erous approaches  to  pink  and  to  red. 

Plicata  (pleated)  Section — Syn.  Aphylla  (leafless.)  Standards  and 
falls  have  a  beautiful  colored  frill-like  margin  on  a  white 
ground. 

Squalens  (daubed)  Section — Standards  of  clouded  shades  of  cop- 
per, bronze  and  fawn;  falls  darker,  of  some  shade  of  purple 
or  brown-crimson. 

Variegata  (variegated)  Section — Standards  of  various  shades  of 
yellow;  falls  usually  brownish. 

Among  the  principal  of  the  less  extensive  species,  a  dozen  or 
so  in  number,  are  the  following: 


22  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


Albicans    (whitish) — Standards    and    falls    pure    paper    white; 

early  and  free  blooming. 
Flavescens   (yellowish) — Standards  and  falls  delicate  shades  of 

soft  yellow;  early  and  free  blooming;. 
Florentina  (of  Florence) — Standards  and  falls  white  faintly  tinged 

with  lavender;  free  and  very  early  (May)  flowering. 
Trojana  (Syn.  Cypriana  and  Asiatica) — Flowers  of  large  size,  of 

shades  of  blue,  on  very  tall  stems;  late  blooming. 

Of  the  foregoing  species,  germanica  and  florentina  are  natives 
of  southern  Europe  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  Al- 
bicans is  believed  to  be  an  Arabian  plant.  It  was  found  growing 
in  Spain,  but  it  probably  had  been  brought  there  by  the  Moors 
— who  conquered  the  country  in  the  eighth  century.  Trojana 
was  found  growing  in  Cyprus — whence  one  of  its  names,  Cypri- 
ana— but  was  probably  from  the  neighborhood  of  Troy  in  Asia 
Minor — whence  its  names  Trojana  and  Asiatica.  All  the  others 
are  supposed  to  have  originated  in  central  Europe — Austria, 
Hungary  or  the  Balkan  States. 

Crosses  between  the  tall  and  the  early  blooming  (April)  dwarf 
bearded  Irises,  having  a  strain  of  blood  from  the  germanica 
section,  have  resulted  in  a  new  type  commonly  classed  as: 

Interregna  or  Intermediate  (Blooming  between  the  early  dwarf 
and  the  later  tall  species) — Flowers  large,  some  unusually  so, 
of  various  colors;  free  and  early  (May)  flowering. 

A  knowledge  of  the  species  to  which  any  particular  variety 
belongs,  and  of  the  locality  in  which  such  species  is  supposed  to 
have  had  its  origin,  is  often  helpful  to  a  person  contemplating 
purchase.  Different  plant smen  sometimes  give  the  same  name  to 
different  varieties,  and  each  of  them  is  entirely  within  his  rights 
in  so  doing,  but  a  purchaser  may  easily  be  misled  thereby  if  he 
does  not  know  the  species  to  which  each  of  such  va/ieties  belongs, 
as  frequently  only  the  color  of  the  flower  is  described,  and  that 
only  in  a  general  way.  Black  Prince,  for  instance,  is  described 
in  one  catalog  as  "standards  purple  lilac,  falls  rich  velvety 
black,"  and  in  another  as  "standards  intensely  deep  violet  blue, 
falls  velvety  purple  black."  The  ordinary  reader,  without  fur- 
ther information  on  the  subject,  would  naturally  understand 
both  plantsmen  as  referring  to  the  same  variety,  whereas  they 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  23 


refer  to  widely  different  varieties,  the  first  referring' to  a  variety 
in  the  germanica  section,  which  is  one  of  the  earliest  bloomers, 
and  the  other  to  a  variety  in  the  neglecta  section,  which  is  one 
of  the  very  latest  to  bloom.  Moreover,  some  species  not  only 
bloom  earlier  than  some  others  but  the  foliage  of  some  species 
remains  green  for  a  much  longer  period  than  that  of  some  others, 
a  matter  that  will  be  referred  to  further  on  under  the  heads 
"Foliage"  and  "What  to  Plant."  Hence  Iris  catalogs  are  most 
helpful  \vhen  they  give  not  only  a  description  of  the  flowers  of 
the  varieties  therein  listed,  but  also  the  species  to  which  they 
severally  belong. 


SOME  STRUCTURAL  CHARACTERISTICS 

Rhizome — All  the  so-called  German  Irises  are  rhizomatous, 
that  is,  having  a  creeping  rhizome  or  fleshy  root-stock '  which 
grows  just  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  in  time  becomes 
so  thickened  that  it  extends  above  the  surface. 

"And  the  coarse  bulbs  of  Iris-flowers  he  found 
Knotted  in  clumps  under  the  spongy  ground." 
Shelley:  Marenghi. 

When  the  rhizome  protrudes  it  should  be  allowed  to  remain 
uncovered,  for  it  delights  in  full  exposure  to  the  sun.  The  rhi- 
zome branches  and  forms  joints  of  annual  growths  of  three  or 
four  inches  in  length,  and  each  growing  point  is  called  a  "toe." 
Rootlets,  usually  growing  from  the  underside  and  downwards, 
furnish  the  nourishment  from  the  ground,  largely  through  root 
hairs  which  appear  along  the  rootlets  but  not  to  any  great  extent 
until  the  rootlets  have  grown  their  full  length. 

Foliage — The  foliage  of  all  the  varieties  is  highly  decorative. 
The  strong,  erect  or  gracefully  drooping  leaves  are  broad  and 
sword-like. 


Living  swords,  innocent  of  blood, 
Never  stained  with  the  crimson  flood. 


24  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


They  grow  directly  from  the  rhizome — from  its  apex,  or  from 
protuberances,  mostly  from  the  side  of  the  rhizome,  which  them- 
selves in  time  form  branches  or  joints — in  fan  shape — whence  a 
cluster  of  leaves  having  a  piece  of  the  rhizome  attached  is  some- 
times called  a  "fan" — and,  generally,  attain  a  height  of  18  to 
30  inches,  according  to  the  variety,  averaging  about  24  inches 
except  that  the  foliage  of  the  interregnas  is  somewhat  more 
dwarf.  Each  leaf  is  folded  lengthways  in  the  middle,  and  the 
two  halves  of  the  lower  portion  remain  distinct,  but  above  that 
they  unite  and  form  a  solid  blade,  and  so  the  outside  of  the  leaf 
corresponds  to  what  is  the  under  side  of  leaves  generally.  Each 
leaf  sits  saddle-fashion  about  the  base  of  the  leaf  next  above  and 
on  the  opposite  side. 

Almost  invariably  the  leaves  are  bright  green,  but  Pallida 
Folia  Variegata  (pallida)  has  green  leaves  with  a  broad  band  of 
creamy  yellow  the  whole  length  of  the  leaf. 

Usually  from  about  the  forepart  of  August  the  leaves  of  most 
varieties  gradually  fade  and  wither,  beginning  at  the  tips,  and  es- 
pecially if  the  plant  is  crowded  or  has  become  matted,  and  the 
plant  will  then  look  shabby  unless  from  time  to  time  the  withered 
portions  are  cut  off;  but  the  leaves  should  not  be  wholly  removed 
— except  as  hereinafter  stated  under  "Enemies" —  until  they  have 
fully  performed  their  office  and  are  entirely  withered  and  will 
come  away  with  the  slightest  pull.  The  foliage  of  species  native 
to  countries  with  mild  winters  remains  fresh  and  green  longer 
than  that  of  species  of  countries  where  the  winters  are  more  se- 
vere. Thus  germanica  and  florentina,  native  to  southern  Europe, 
are  there  never  entirely  leafless,  practically  evergreen,  but  the 
species  native  to  the  colder  countries  of  central  Europe,  which 
are  noted  ante  under  "Classification,"  there  lose  their  leaves  in 
autumn.  The  varieties  of  each  of  the  several  species,  even  when 
grown  elsewhere  than  in  the  country  of  the  species'  origin,  retain 
this  characteristic  of  the  species  to  a  marked  degree.  Here  in 
northern  Illinois,  which  has  a  trying  climate,  substantially  all 
the  foliage  of  each  of  the  varieties  of  the  germanica  section,  of 
the  florentinas  and  of  the  interregnas,  remains  green  until  late  in 
the  season,  and  in  the  case  of  the  germanicas  and  florentinas  a 
considerable  portion  continues  green  until  the  new  growth  starts 
in  the  spring— a  touch  of  summer  in  the  dead  of  winter. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  25 

I 

Flower  Stem — The  flower  stem  rises  from  the  middle  of  *a  fan 
or  cluster  of  leaves  which  sit  about  it  saddle-fashion;  but  every 
fan  does  not  produce  a  flower  stem,  the  different  varieties  varying 
considerably  in  this  respect. 

The  flower  stems  of  the  different  varieties  vary  in  height  from 
twenty  to  forty-eight  inches,  except  of  the  interregnas,  which 
vary  from  twelve  to  thirty  inches.  The  stems  of  some  varieties 
are  simple  and  of  others  they  are  branched,  and  they  almost  in- 
variably stand  erect  and  carry  their  flowers  well  above  the 
foliage. 

"Amid  its  waving  swords,  in  flaming  gold 
The  Iris  towers."        Mrs.  Charlotte  Smith. 

"O'er  her  tall  blades  the  crested  Fleur-de-lis, 
Like  blue-eyed  Pallas,  towers  erect  and  free." 
Holmes:  Spring. 

"Mint  and  Flagleaf  swording  high 
Their  blooms  to  the  unthinking  eye." 
Clare:  Sheph.  Cal. 

Flower — The  flower  is  of  somewhat  unusual  form.  It  has  no 
petals  or  sepals,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  these  terms,  but  it  is  a 
tubular  flower,  and  the  upper  edge  of  the  short  tube  is  cleft  and 
grows  on  into  two  sets  of  segments  or  divisions,  of  three  each,  the 
one  set  being  within  the  other.  The  three  inner  segments  or 
divisions,  sometimes  erroneously  called  petals,  commonly  desig- 
nated as  the  "standards,"  are  generally  nearly  erect  and  slightly 
incurved,  but  in  some  varieties — as  Loreley  (variegata)  and  E.  L. 
Crandell  (plicata)  they  are  more  spreading  and  open. 

"In  every  flower  that  blooms  around, 

Some  pleasing  emblem  we  may  trace ; 

*         *         *         # 

Peace  in  the  olive  branch  we  see, 
Hope  in  the  half -shut  Iris  glows, 
In  the  bright  laurel  victory! 
And  lovely  woman  in  the  rose. 
Chazet:  Ms. 

The  outer  segments  or  divisions,  called  the  "falls,"  usually 
droop  gracefully,  but  in  a  few  varieties,  as  Isoline  (squalens)  and 


26  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

Karput  (germanica) ,  they  hang  close  to  the  stem,  and  in  a  few 
varieties — as  Loreley  (variegata),  Anna  Fair  (plicata),  Darius 
(variegata)  and  Victorine  (amoena) — they  spread  somewhat 
horizontally.  In  the  case  of  a  very  few  varieties  both  the  stand- 
ards and  the  falls  approach  the  horizontal.  Irises  having  the 
standards  open  and  the  falls  closely  approaching  the  horizontal 
are  sometimes  described  as  "orchid  like"  or  having  an  "orchid 
effect." 

On  the  upper  part  of  the  base  of  the  falls  there  is  a  collection 
of  closely  set  hairs  or  down,  which  is  called  the  "beard,"  whence 
the  name  "Bearded  Iris." 

Each  flower  has  three  petal-like  stigmas  which  in  some  varie- 
ties— as  Eldorado — are  so  conspicuous  from  their  size  and  color 
as  to  give  the  flower  the  appearance  of  being  semi-double. 

The  flowers  of  all  varieties  are  large,  and  some  are  of  immense 
size — as  Caterina  (trojana),  Ingeborg  (interregna),  Isoline 
(squalens),  Lohengrin  (pallida),  and  Oriflamme  (germanica)—- 
five  to  six  inches  deep,  with  segments  two  or  more  inches  wide. 

Most  of  the  varieties  are  sweetly  scented,  some  being  only 
slightly  but  others  very  fragrant.  Dalmatica  (pallida),  Floren- 
tina  (species),  Monsignor  (neglecta)  and  Walhalla  (interregna) 
are  among  the  most  fragrant,  Fairy  (plicata)  is  perhaps  the  most 
fragrant  of  all,  and  Caprice  and  Mad.  Pacquitte  have  an  es- 
pecially delicious  fragrance.  The  very  fragrant  varieties  are 
probably  much  more  numerous  now  than  in  early  times,  for 
three  hundred  years  ago  a  poet  wrote: 

"The  lily  and  the  Fleur-de-lis, 
For  color  much  contending; 
For  that  I  them  do  only  prize, 
They  are  but  poor  in  scenting." 
Dray  ton. 

Many  years  ago  a  British  poet  wrote: 

"Choosing  for  odour, 

The  violet  were  mine — men  call  her  modest, 
Because  she  hides,  and  when  in  company 
Lacks  manners  and  the  assertive  style  of  worth — 
While  this  narcissus  here  scorns  modesty, 
Will  stand  up  what  she  is,  tho'  something  prim: 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  27 


Her  scent  a  saturation  of  one  tone, 
Like  her  plain  symmetry,  leaves  naught  to  fancy— 
Whereas  this  Iris — she  out  vie  th  man's 
Excellent  artistry;  elaboration 
Confounded  with  simplicity,  till  none 
Can  tell  which  sprang  of  which.     Could  I  but  find 
A  scented  Iris,  I  should  be  content: 
Yet  men  would  call  me  proud:     Iris  is  pride." 
Bridges:  Demeter. 

In  variety  of  colors  the  Iris  is  hardly  equalled  and  is  not  sur- 
passed by  any  other  hardy  plant,  and  it  rivals  even  the  orchids. 
The  colors  range  through  shades  of  blue,  bronze,  claret,  crimson, 
lavender,  mauve,  maroon,  pink,  purple,  red,  rose,  yellow,  violet 
and  white.  Some  of  the  varieties  are  of  solid  color,  the  stand- 
ards and  falls  being  of  the  same  or  a  different  color;  some  are 
margined  or  bordered,  and  many  are  more  or  less  mottled,  pen- 
ciled or  veined  or  netted  in  a  variety  of  colors.  The  beard  is 
generally  yellow,  from  primrose  to  orange,  but  sometimes  it  is 
wholly  or  in  part  white,  and  in  at  least  one  variety — Blue  Boy- 
it  is  blue. 

There  is  no  flower  that  during  the  last  few  years  has  been 
improved  more  than  the  Iris.  One  who  has  seen  only  the  early 
forms  can  have  no  conception  of  the  marvels  of  today.  If  the 
poets  of  the  past  who  sang  of  the  Iris  as  they  knew  it,  could 
witness  the  present  glories  of  the  hybridizer's  art,  they  surely 
again  would  attune  their  lyres  and  sing  in  even  nobler  strains. 
And  what  would  Thoreau  think  if  he  could  witness  the  gorgeous- 
ness  of  the  Iris  of  our  day?  Of  the  purple  Flag  of  the  meadows, 
that  now  seems  dull  by  comparison,  he  said — 

"Too  showy  and  gaudy,  like  some  women's  bonnets." 

Blooming — German  Irises  as  a  general  rule  bloom  but  once  in 
a  season,  except  under  especially  favorable  circumstances  as  in 
California.  A  few  varieties  begin  to  bloom  a  little  before  the 
middle  of  May,  and  the  others  from  a  few  days  to  several  weeks 
later.  In  ordinary  seasons  they  can  be  relied  upon  to  furnish 
an  abundance  of  flowers  on  Decoration  Day  when  flowers  are 
so  much  wanted  and  good  flowers  for  outdoor  decoration  are 
usually  scarce. 


28  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

A  well-established  plant  will  produce  many  spikes  of  bloom, 
sometimes  from  50  to  100.  Generally,  they  shoot  up  about  the 
same  time,  but  in  a  few  instances,  as  Caterina  (trojana),  they  to 
'  some  extent  succeed  each  other.  Each  stem  produces  a  number 
of  buds — rarely  less  than  four  or  five,  and  in  the  case  of  many 
varieties  nine  or  more,  and  in  a  few  instances,  as  Caterina  (tro- 
jana), Rubella  (pallida)  and  Perfection  (neglecta),  from  fifteen 
to  twenty — which  open  in  succession  at  intervals  of  from  one 
to  three  days. 

The  life  of  the  individual  flower  is  only  from  2  to  5  days,  but 
as  there  is  a  succession  of  flowers  on  each  stem,  and  some  varieties 
produce  flower  stems  in  succession,  and  different  varieties  bloom 
at  different  times,  the  season  is  prolonged  until  the  latter  part 
of  June. 

Hardiness — The  Iris  is  remarkable  for  its  hardiness.  It  is  as 
easy  as  a  weed  to  grow — as  easy  as  a  burdock,  dandelion  or 
thistle — and,  given  a  suitable  situation,  it  is  one  of  the  longest- 
lived  of  all  perennials.  It  is  in  a  class  with  the  paeony  and 
gas  plant,  one  of  the  "live-forevers." 


. 
. 


MAKE  'THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  29 


PLANTING 

Where  to  Plant — The  Iris  is  a  sun  lover  and  grows  most  luxu- 
riantly and  flowers  most  abundantly  in  full  exposure  to  the  sun. 
It  will  grow  well  and  flower  to  some  extent  in  partial  shade  if 
normal  moisture  is  available,  but  the  quantity  of  flowers  it  will 
produce  will  usually  be  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  sunshine 
it  receives.  In  dense  shade  it  is  usually  flowerless.  The  floren- 
tinas  and  germanicas  are  among  the  best  for  shady  places. 

It  is  not  particular  as  to  soil.  It  will  thrive  in  either  heavy 
or  light  soil,  but  the  former  is  preferable  to  the  latter  if  very  light. 
Ordinary  good  deep  garden  loam  suits  it  best.  Unless  the  soil  is 
poor,  fertilizers  are  unnecessary,  but  if  a  richer  soil  is  wanted  dig 
in  a  little  well  rotted  manure  that  is  at  least  a  year  old,  or  a  little 
bone  meal.  Irises  like  a  little  lime.  Ordinarily  there  is  enough 
of  this  element  present,  but  when  it  is  lacking  it  may  be  supplied 
in  the  form  of  pulverized  old  mortar  or  powdered  slacked  lime. 

Whatever  the  soil,  good  drainage  is  essential.  A  moist  soil 
suits  the  Iris  admirably  if  the  drainage  is  good,  but  in  the  ab- 
sence of  drainage  much  moisture  will  cause  decay.  Moist  during 
the  growing  season  and  dry  the  remainder  of  the  year  is  the 
condition  that  suits  it  best.  It  does  well  in  a  dry  situation  where 
most  plants  would  perish  of  drought,  and  its  ability  to  withstand 
heat  and  drought  is  one  of  its  most  valuable  characteristics. 

It  is  as  indifferent  to  atmosphere  as  to  soil.  While  of  course 
it  thrives  best  in  a  reasonably  pure  atmosphere,  and  is  less  sightly 
with  soiled  foliage,  it  does  remarkably  well  in  an  atmosphere 
frequently  and  to  a  considerable  extent  charged  with  dust,  smoke 
or  soot. 

How  to  Plant — Cut  back  the  foliage  to  four  or  five  inches. 
Cut  away  entirely  all  old  and  decayed  rootlets  and  reduce  the 
new  ones  to  manageable  length.  If  any  of  the  latter  have  been 
broken,  bruised  or  dried  up  cut  them  back  to  sound  fresh  tissue. 
Having  dug  the  ground  at  least  a  spade  depth,  dig  a  hole  a  little 
larger  than  may  be  necessary  to  allow  the  rootlets  to  be  spread 
out  at  full  length,  and  make  a  mound  in  the  center,  with  the  top 
a  little — about  the  thickness  of  the  rhizome — below  the  level  of 


30  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

the  surrounding  surface.  Place  the  rhizome  flat  on  the  mound 
and  after  spreading  the  rootlets  in  a  slanting  way  downwards 
over  the  mound  of  soil,  in  order  that  they  may  the  better  resist 
the  action  of  frost,  fill  the  hole  and  cover  the  top  of  the  rhizome 
with  but  an  inch  or  so  of  soil  well  pressed  down.  If  manure  is 
dug  into  the  ground  at  the  time  of  planting  be  careful  not  to  let 
the  rhizome  come  in  contact  with  any  of  it.  But  little  moisture 
should  be  given  until  growth  begins,  or  the  rhizome  will  be 
likely  to  decay. 

Such  care  in  planting — except  that  the  rhizome  should  not  be 
any  more  deeply  covered  and  should  not  be  allowed  to  come  in 
contact  with  manure — is  not  essential  to  success,  but  it  will  be 
well  repaid  by  the  extra  results  that  will  be  thus  obtained. 

If  the  plants  are  small,  and  a  mass  effect  as  soon  as  possible 
is  wanted,  they  can  be  planted  a  foot  apart  each  way  and  they 
will  soon  completely  cover  the  ground.  Ordinarily,  however,  a 
greater  distance  will  be  found  more  desirable.  Irises  flower 
most  profusely  when  well  established,  and  they  increase  quite 
rapidly,  and  it  is  therefore  advisable  to  set  the  plants  at  such  a 
distance  apart  that  division  and  resetting  will  not  be  necessary 
for  a  few  years — at  least  two,  and  better  three  feet  apart.  The 
vacant  spaces,  until  required  by  the  Irises  themselves,  can  be 
utilized  with  annuals,  and  for  this  purpose  nothing  is  better 
than  the  gladiolus,  which  has  the  same  sword-like  leaves,  and 
which  will  be  in  bloom  after  all  the  Irises  are  done.  The  gladi- 
olus itself  will  look  all  the  better  in  such  setting  because  of  its 
own  sparse  foliage.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  shade  the  Iris 
rhizomes  completely — which  is  likely  to  be  the  case  if  low  growing 
trailing  plants  are  used  as  fillers — as  they  need  the  sunshine  to 
ripen  them. 

The  taller  varieties  should  of  course  be  planted  at  the  rear. 
Of  varieties  of  the  same  height  the  earlier  blooming,  except  those 
which  keep  their  foliage  throughout  the  entire  season,  should  be 
planted  back  of  the  others.  If  the  Iris  bed  or  border  is  located 
where  it  will  be  much  in  evidence  when  not  in  bloom,  in  the 
extreme  front  only  such  varieties  should  be  planted  as  retain 
their  foliage  in  good  condition  for  the  longest  period.  These 
are  noted  ante  under  "Foliage." 


MAKE  'THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  31 

"Just  arrangement  rarely  brought  to  pass 
But  by  a  master's  hand  disposing  well 
The  gay  diversities  of  leaf  and  flow'r 
Must  lend  its  aid  t'  illustrate  all  their  charms, 
And  dress  the  regular  yet  various  scene. 
Plant  behind  plant  aspiring,  in  the  van 
The  dwarfish,  in  the  rear  retired,  but  still 
Sublime  above  the  rest,  the  statelier  stand." 
Cowper:  The  Task. 

As  Irises  are  out  of  bloom  for  so  long  a  period  it  is  better  to 
plant  them  in  groups  rather  than  in  large  masses,  and  to  plant 
between  the  groups  something  that  will  bloom  after  the  Irises 
are  through. 

When  to  Plant — The  Iris  can  be  successfully  transplanted  any 
time  when  the  ground  is  not  frozen  deep.  If  planted  in  the 
spring,  and  especially  late  in  the  spring,  it  seldom  blooms  the 
same  season.  Plantsmen  generally  recommend  August  and 
September  as  the  ideal  time  for  transplanting,  as  this  is  its  dor- 
mant season  and  it  will  afterwards  make  a  root  growth  and 
become  fairly  well  established  before  the  ground  freezes,  and  will 
be  in  good  condition  to  bloom  the  following  spring.  A  better 
time,  however,  is  just  after  the  plant  has  ceased  blooming — 
provided  the  rootlets  are  not  allowed  to  become  dry — as  then  a 
new  vigorous  growth  begins,  and  the  rootlets  are  then  short  and 
have  sent  out  few,  if  any,  branches  or  root  hairs  and  are  therefore 
less  liable  to  be  injured  when  the  plant  is  taken  up,  and  the  plant 
will  have  that  much  more  time  to  become  established  and  will 
bloom  more  freely  the  following  spring. 

The  Iris  is  pre-eminently  the  plant  for  the  renter's  garden. 
With  Irises  he  can  quickly  make  his  abode  look  like  a  home  in- 
stead of  a  mere  stopping-place,  and  whenever  he  moves,  except 
when  the  ground  is  deeply  frozen,  he  can  dig  them  up  and  take 
them  with  him  and  know  that  they  will  do  well  in  their  new  home. 

What  to  Plant — All  Irises  are  beautiful,  so  the  selection  of 
varieties  is  largely  a  matter  of  individual  taste. 

"Blue  Flags,  yellow  Flags,  Flags  all  freckled, 
Which  will  you  take?     Yellow,  blue,  speckled, 
Take  which  you  will — speckled,  blue,  yellow- 
Each  in  its  way  has  not  a  fellow." 
Anon. 


32  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

There  are,  however,  a  few  matters  besides  a  preference  for 
special  colors  which  it  will  be  well  to  observe.  A  mass  of  one 
color  is  the  most  showy,  but  a  number  of  small  groups  of  different 
colors  are  preferable  to  a  large  mass  of  one  color.  In  massing 
different  colors  care  should  be  taken  to  select  such  as  harmonize. 
Varieties  of  the  squalens  section,  for  instance,  do  not,  as  a  general 
rule,  go  well  with  other  varieties.  It  is  a  striking  characteristic 
of  blue  that  all  of  its  shades  go  well  together.  White  is  generally 
recommended  to  separate  discordant  colors  but  while  it  separates 
it  also  accentuates  sharp  high  colors.  A  better  way  to  prevent 
"clashing"  of  different  colored  masses  is  by  separating  them  with 
some  other  kind  of  plants  of  taller  growth  and  different  flowering 
period,  or  with  flowering  shrubs.  This  also  prevents  monotony 
from  the  Irises  being  so  long  out  of  bloom. 

"Here  also  grateful  mixture  of  well  match'd 
And  sorted  hues  (each  giving  each  relief, 
And  by  contrasted  beauty  shining  more) 
Is  needful."  Cowper:  The  Task. 

Light  and  shadow  should  be  considered.  Most  Irises  look  best 
in  full  sunlight,  but  a  few — as  those  of  a  bluish  color — look 
equally  as  well  in  light  shadow. 

The  point  of  view  should  receive  attention.  Some  Irises  are 
very  beautiful  when  seen  close  at  hand,  but  much  less  so  when 
seen  from  a  distance,  and  colors  should  therefore  be  chosen  which 
will  carry  well  the  distance  from  which  they  will  usually  be  seen. 
The  Queen  of  May,  for  instance,  lavender  pink,  is  fine  close  at 
hand  in  strong  sunlight,  but  has  a  duller  appearance  from  a  dis- 
tance. The  large  flowers  of  some  of  the  varieties  of  the  plicata 
section,  having  a  ground  of  white  edged  with  another  color,  are 
exceedingly  beautiful  when  nearby,  but  at  a  distance  the  border 
is  hardly  noticed  and  the  flowers  seem  to  be  small  white  ones. 

In  Iris  catalogs  some  varieties  are  sometimes  described  as 
"good  for  cutting,"  or  "excellent  for  cut  flowers."  All  Irises  are 
desirable  for  cut  flowers.  Sometimes  what  is  meant  is  that  the 
varieties  thus  described  have  long  flower  stems  which  show  off 
their  flowers  to  great  advantage,  or,  that  their  flowers  are  espe- 
cially showy  on  account  of  their  size.  Generally  it  seems  that 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  33 

all  that  is  intended  is  that  those  varieties  are  very  free  bloomers 
— either  having  an  unusual  number  of  flower  stems  or  an  unusual 
number  of  flowers  to  a  stem. 

Some  varieties  are  sometimes  described  as  "fine  for  massing/' 
by  which  is  ordinarily  meant  merely  that  those  varieties  are 
especially  good  for  producing  a  mass  of  color. 

For  foundation  planting  use  some  variety  of  the  germanica 
section,  as  Kochii — listed  by  some  plantsmen  as  "Purpurea"  and 
by  others  as  "Atropurpurea" — or  Crimson  King.  The  leaves  of 
the  latter  are  not  quite  as  erect  as  those  of  the  former,  but  they 
are  longer  and  wider.  If  a  double  row  is  desired,  for  the  back 
use  Oriflamme  which  has  larger  foliage.  All  these  do  very  well 
even  on  the  shady  side,  and  on  the  sunny  side  they  fairly  revel 
in  the  intense  heat  of  the  direct  and  reflected  rays  beating  down 
on  their  exposed  rhizomes — a  characteristic  indicative  of  the  high 
temperature  of  the  country  of  their  origin.  For  such  a  situation 
these  Irises  are  not  surpassed  by  any  other  plant.  During  the 
summer  not  only  does  their  foliage  look  almost  as  well  as  that  of 
a  fern,  but  they  also  have  beautiful  flowers  and  ferns  have  none; 
and  in  the  winter  when  ferns  are  flat  on  the  ground,  withered  and 
brown,  a  considerable  portion  of  these  Irises  continue  green  and 
more  or  less  erect.  When  the  house  is  a  frame  one  on  a  very  low 
foundation,  these  Irises  are  better  than  most  flowering  shrubs, 
for  in  summer  their  leaves  are  long  enough  to  hide  the  foundation 
but  not  long  enough  to  keep  the  woodwork  damp  during  a  long 
continued  rainy  season,  and  during  the  winter  nearly  every 
shrub  is  leafless.  The  flowers  of  these  varieties  are  reddish 
purple.  If  white  flowers  are  preferred  use  Florentina  (species) 
or  Ingeborg  (interregna),  but  the  foliage  of  these  varieties  does 
not  last  quite  as  long  as  that  of  the  varieties  first  named. 

There  are  Irises  for  every  purse.  The  old  standard  sorts 
usually  sell  at  fifteen  to  twenty  cents  a  single  root,  later  intro- 
ductions at  twenty-five  to  fifty  cents,  and  the  very  latest  and 
finest  at  seventy-five  cents  to  two  dollars.  Even  the  cheapest 
sorts  will  give  great  satisfaction,  and  when  the  price  must  be  con- 
sidered they  will  probably  constitute  the  main  purchase;  but 
every  purchaser  should  include  in  his  order  at  least  several  of 
the  newest  and  finest  varieties.  Even  if  a  plant  should  cost  as 
much  as  two  dollars,  in  two  or  three  years  it  will  increase  to  such 


34  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

extent  that  it  can  be  divided  into  so  many  that  each  will  have 
cost  less  than  ten  cents.  And  anyway  two  dollars  is  a  small 
price  for  a  section  of  rainbow  that  can  be  seen  not  only  for  a  few 
minutes  after  a  shower  but  all  the  time  during  the  whole  blooming 
season  and  throughout  the  planter's  lifetime,  and  which  increases 
in  size  as  the  years  go  by. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  35 


SUBSEQUENT  CARE 

Cultivation — There  is  no  other  desirable  flowering  plant  that 
requires  less  care,  when  once  established.  Even  if  planted  in 
the  sod,  if  cared  for  the  first  year  or  two  it  will  thereafter  not 
only  maintain  itself,  but  bloom  abundantly  and  increase,  without 
further  attention.  It  is  above  all  others  the  plant  for  the  lazy 
man  and  also  for  the  la — for  the  lady  indisposed  to  any  more 
exertion  in  the  flower  garden  than  is  required  to  gather  the  blooms. 
Nevertheless  it  will  well  repay  whatever  care  it  may  receive. 
Give  it  ordinary  cultivation.  In  the  spring  remove  the  dead 
leaves,  for  sightliness.  Stir  the  ground  occasionally  to  prevent  a 
crust  from  forming,  and  keep  the  plants  free  from  grass  and 
weeds — 

"Because  sweet-flowers  are  slow  and  weeds  make  haste." 
Shakespeare:  King  Richard  III. 

For  best  results,  after  growth  starts  in  the  spring  an  abundance 
of  water  should  be  supplied  up  to  and  immediately  following 
flowering,  unless  the  soil  is  naturally  moist. 

The  Iris  requires  a  year  or  two  to  become  established,  and  the 
finest  flowers  are  obtained  from  established  clumps  which  should 
therefore  not  be  disturbed  oftener  than  necessary.  As  most  of 
the  varieties  increase  quite  rapidly,  every  five  or  six  years  the 
clumps  should  be  divided.  Unless  many  plants  are  desired  the 
divisions  should  not  be  made  very  small,  or  there  will  be  but  few 
flowers  the  first  season.  Three  or  four  branches  or  joints  to  a 
division,  with  a  cluster  of  leaves  attached,  will  usually  be  found 
to  be  most  satisfactory.  The  whole  clump  may  be  taken  up, 
divided  and,  discarding  any  old  dried  up  or  decayed  parts,  reset 
as  described  ante  under  "How  to  Plant"  A  better  way  is  to 
cut  the  clurnp  iiito  portions  as  it  stands  in  the  ground  and  re- 
move all  but  one — disturbing  that  one  as  little  as  possible — and 
reset  them,  and  fill  with  fresh  soil  the  hole  from  which  they  were 
taken.  Unless  divided  the  clumps  will  in  time  crowd  each  other, 
and  the  individual  plants  will  become  matted  into  a  thick  mass 
and  will  in  time  exhaust  the  soil  within  reach  of  their  roots  and 


36  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

the  center  will  gradually  cease  to  bloom.  When  this  condition 
exists,  if  it  is  not  convenient  to  transplant,  the  ground  should  be 
enriched  in  the  spring  with  a  top  dressing  of  bone  meal. 

If  the  same  spot  is  to  be  used  for  replanting  it  will  usually  be 
well  to  first  add  to  the  soil  a  little  bone  meal. 

Irises  planted  in  the  fall,  especially  if  planted  late,  should  be 
given  a  covering  of  an  inch  or  so  of  some  light  material  that  will 
not  pack  and  hold  moisture,  as  loose  straw,  as  soon  as  the  ground 
freezes,  to  lessen  the  danger  from  alternate  freezing  and  thawing, 
and  this  should  be  raked  off  in  the  spring.  Established  clumps 
will  winter  well  without  protection. 

Diseases  and  Enemies — The  Iris  is  little  subject  to  disease  or 
the  attack  of  insects.  Rot  caused  by  fungi,  induced  by  extreme 
moisture  and  insufficient  drainage,  or  by  manure,  is  the  principal 
trouble  to  be  guarded  against.  There  is  a  moth  which,  in  some 
seasons,  in  some  sections  of  the  country  occasions  more  or  less 
injury.  It  lays  its  eggs  in  the  leaf  sheath  during  the  fall,  and  the 
larvae  bore  in  the  rhizome,  causing  the  foliage  to  turn  yellow  and 
finally  die,  while  the  rhizome  becomes  a  rotting  slimy  mass. 
The  insects  do  not  cause  the  rots  directly  but  merely  make  wounds 
for  the  entrance  of  fungi.  The  falling  of  the  leaf  to  the  ground, 
although  still  green  and  fresh-looking,  is  often  the  first  indica- 
tion that  there  is  anything  wrong  with  the  plant.  As  soon  as 
the  trouble  is  noticed  dig  up  the  plant  and  cut  or  scrape  away, 
down  to  the  sound  tissue,  all  the  decayed  portion,  which  has  an 
extremely  offensive  smell,  and  burn  it.  Dip  the  remainder  of 
the  plant,  leaves  and  all,  into  a  solution  of  potassium  perman- 
ganate— about  a  teaspoonful  of  the  crystals  to  a  quart  of  water — 
and  then  replant  in  well  drained  ground  and  if  possible  in  a 
fresh  situation. 

As  a  preventative  of  rot  some  extensive  Iris  growers  dress  the 
ground,  before  planting,  with  superphosphate  of  lime — about  a 
pound  to  five  square  yards — or  apply  a  4  per  cent  formalin  solu — 
tion — about  six  tablespoonfuls  of  the  usual  commercial  40  per 
cent  solution  of  formaldehyde,  to  a  quart  of  water — and  spray 
the  plants  in  spring  and  early  summer,  at  intervals  of  a  month, 
with  some  disinfectant,  as  a  2  per  cent  solution  of  formaldehyde — 
about  three  tablespoonfuls  of  formaldehyde  to  a  quart  of  water 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  37 

— or  with  a  solution,  as  just  mentioned,  of  potassium  perman- 
ganate, and  then  to  counteract  any  acidity  in  the  soil  apply  in 
the  fall  or  winter  a  dressing;  of  finely  ground  limestone  or  water- 
slacked  lime. 

If  in  any  season  there  has  been  damage  by  larvae  of  the  moth, 
as  soon  after  the  first  of  November  as  may  be,  before  the  larvae 
have  left  the  leaf,  all  the  Iris  leaves,  new  and  old,  should  be  cut 
off  just  above  the  rhizome  and  burned— cutting  underneath  the 
soil  if  necessary  even  if  a  few  of  the  buds  on  the  rhizome  be 
thereby  destroyed. 


PROPAGATION 

Division — Propagation  by  division  is  the  usual  method.  The 
cluster  of  root-stocks  may  be  separated,  by  cutting  or  breaking 
them  apart,  and  each  cluster  treated  as  a  separate  plant.  Such 
a  separate  cluster  is  meant  by  the  term  "clump"  in  plantsmen's 
Iris  price  lists.  The  clusters  may  in  turn  be  separated  into  indi- 
vidual root-stocks,  and  such  a  root-stock — and  sometimes,  in 
the  case  of  very  rare  and  expensive  varieties,  merely  a  toe — is 
what  is  meant  by  the  term  "single  root"  in  Iris  price  lists.  The 
individual  root-stocks  may  be  cut  into  short  pieces  of  an  inch  or 
two  in  length,  and  each  piece  planted  separately.  The  pieces, 
even  most  of  those  without  either  leaves  or  rootlets,  will  in  time 
produce  as  good  plants  as  the  others,  but  a  longer  time  will  be 
required. 


Seed — The  varieties  of  the  germanica  section  seldom  produce 
seed,  and  most  of  the  varieties  of  the  other  sections,  by  reason  of 
the  peculiar  relative  positions  of  the  anthers  and  stigmas,  rarely 
produce  seed  unless  fertilized  by  external  agency,  as  by  bees  or 
by  hand. 

"Ah!  the  droning  of  the  bee! 
In  his  dusty  pantaloons 
Tumbling  in  the  Fleurs-de-lis; 
In  the  drowsy  afternoons 
Dreaming  in  the  pink  sweet-pea." 

Cawein:  The  Farmsted. 


38  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 

Pollination  can  readily  be  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  a  small 
brush  of  camel's  hair,  with  which  the  pollen  can  be  transferred 
from  the  anthers — which  are  directly  under  the  strap-like  division 
of  the  style — to  the  stigma — which  is  on  the  upper  surface  of 
the  style  at  the  rolled-up  tip— of  the  same  flower,  or  to  the  stigma 
of  a  different  flower  if  a  cross  is  desired.  In  the  latter  case  the 
anthers  of  the  flower  to  be  fertilized  should  be  removed  as  soon  as 
the  flower  opens.  The  pollen  should  be  applied  when  the  upper 
edge  of  the  stigma  drops  and  exposes  the  upper  surface. 

The  seeds  should  be  gathered  as  soon  as  ripe — they  are  ripe 
enough  as  soon  as  they  turn  brown,  even  if  the  pods  are  yet 
green.  Take  them  from  the  pod  and  dry  them  in  the  shade  in 
an  airy  place  and  then  at  once  sow  in  any  good  garden  soil,  thinly 
in  drills,  half  an  inch  deep,  firming  the  soil,  as  by  patting  with  a 
block  or  back  of  a  spade  or  with  the  hand,  and  cover  lightly  with 
straw  or  a  screen  of  some  kind  to  hold  the  moisture.  The  seed 
is  usually  slow  to  germinate.  Under  some  conditions  it  will  come 
up  in  three  weeks,  but  it  will  be  more  likely  to  lie  in  the  ground 
until  the  next  spring,  and  a  few  may  not  start  for  several  years. 
The  seedlings  should  be  cared  for  the  same  as  seedlings  in  general, 
and  may  be  transplanted  to  permanent  quarters  when  two  or 
three  inches  high,  and  should  be  protected  in  the  winter  with  a 
light  cover,  as  recommended  above  under  the  head  of  "Subse- 
quent Care,7'  to  prevent  them  from  being  thrown  out  by  the  frost, 
as  they  will  not  then  be  very  strongly  rooted.  Some,  if  in  rich 
ground  and  abundantly  watered  and  well  cared  for,  will  bloom 
the  second  spring  but  most  of  them  after  the  second  spring. 

Plants  obtained  by  division  will  of  course  bear  flowers  the 
same  as  the  parent  plant,  but  there  is  likely  to  be  a  great  varia- 
tion in  the  colors  of  the  seedlings. 

Persons  whose  only  enjoyment  of  a  flower  is  in  inhaling  its  per- 
fume or  seeing  the  beauty  of  its  form  and  color,  should  buy  Iris 
plants  instead  of  raising  them  from  seed,  for  they  will  get  flowers 
sooner  and  with  less  trouble.  But  the  flower  lover  who  has  pa- 
tience and  finds  pleasure  in  anticipation,  in  addition  to  setting 
out  plants  may  well  sow  a  few  seeds,  for  he  will  be  quite  sure  to 
get  from  the  latter  something  new  and  it  may  be  very  fine,  and 
the  chance  and  hope  will  give  zest  to  his  garden  work.  Then, 
too,  the  plant  will  last  his  lifetime,  and  the  consciousness  of 
having  himself  originated  it  will  add  to  his  satisfaction. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  39 


USE 

For  Planting — The  usefulness  of  the  Iris  is  not  confined  to  the 
home  grounds.  By  reason  of  its  hardiness,  fewness  of  its  re- 
quirements and  its  suffering  but  little  from  dust,  smoke  or  soot, 
the  varieties  which  retain  their  foliage  throughout  the  season — 
which  are  noted  ante  under  "Foliage"  and  "What  to  Plant"— are 
ideal  plants  for  factory  and  depot  grounds  and  public  parks;  and 
such  of  these  varieties  as  bear  white  flowers  are  unexcelled  for 
cemetery  decoration.  For  the  same  reasons,  and  from  the  fact 
that  they  bloom  early  in  the  season,  before  the  schools  close,  all 
varieties  are  especially  valuable  for  embellishing  school  grounds. 

Road-side  planting  is  coming  into  favor,  and  for  this  purpose 
there  is  no  better  plant  than  the  Iris.  Though  of  ample  increase 
it  would  never  become  troublesome.  The  standard  varieties — all 
of  them  beautiful — are  so  cheap  that  every  land-owner  can  afford 
generous  planting  along  his  highway  frontage.  The  flowers  are 
so  large  that  their  beauty  could  be  clearly  seen  even  from  the 
swiftly  moving  autos;  an  abundance  of  the  especially  fragrant 
varieties  would  scent  the  air  as  does  the  later  blooming  clover; 
long  stretches  of  the  nearly  evergreen  varieties  would  be  a  most 
welcome  sight  to  the  winter  traveler.  May  the  time  be  not  far 
distant  when  plans  for  beautifying  the  Lincoln  Highway,  the 
Indian  Head  Trail  and  other  like  important  lines  of  travel,  will 
include  planting  the  Iris! 

Cut  Flowers — The  flowers  are  fragile  and  when  fully  open  do 
not  bear  much  handling. 

"The  sweetest  flowers  are  ever  frail  and  rare." 
Shelley:  Marenghi. 

For  house  use  the  flower  stems  should  be  taken  just  as  the  first 
buds  are  about  to  open,  and  they  will  open  readily  in  water  and 
the  color  will  be  deeper.  As  the  flowers  fade  remove  them  from 
the  stem  and  shorten  the  stem  and  change  the  water,  and  the  re- 
maining buds  will  all  open  in  succession,  and  a  single  stem  will 
sometimes  furnish  flowers  for  a  week  or  more. 


40  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


Thatching — In  countries  where  the  Iris  grows  in  abundance, 
its  broad  leaves,  sometimes  called  "flags,"  are  used  by  the  peas- 
antry to  thatch  their  cottages. 

t 

"And  at  the  utmost  point     *     *     *     stood  there 
The  relics  of  a  weed-inwoven  cot, 
Thatched  with  broad  flags." 

Shelley:  Marenghi. 

Orris  Root — "Orris  root"  is  a  corruption  of  "Iris  root."  The 
violet  scented  chalky  appearing  orris  root  of  commerce  is  obtained 
from  several  species — Iris  florentina,  Iris  germanica  and  Iris 
pallida — the  first  named  yielding  the  principal  supply.  The 
rhizomes  are  taken  from  the  ground  in  the  spring,  and  after  the 
removal  of  the  rootlets  and  the  skin  or  bark  they  are  put  aside 
to  dry.  When  fresh  they  have  an  earthy  odor  but  in  drying 
they  acquire  the  pleasant  smell  of  violets — which  is  fully  de- 
veloped after  about  two  years — which  they  retain  indefinitely, 

"     *     *     *     like  the  violet,  which  decayed  in  bloom, 
Survives  through  many  a  year  in  rich  perfume." 
Scott:  Epilogue. 

Orris  root  is  much  used  in  perfumery.  It  is  principally  used 
in  powdered  form,  for  sachet  powders,  tooth  and  hair  powders 
and  other  scented  dry  perparations.  The  dried  root  is  sometimes 
chewed  to  conceal  an  offensive  breath,  but  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  swallow  it,  for  it  is  diuretic,  emetic,  and  cathartic  and  apt 
to  occasion  nausea  and  prostration. 

Formerly  powdered  orris  root  was  used  as  a  complexion  beauti- 
fier.  The  root  of  a  species  of  Iris  grown  on  the  thatched  roofs  in 
China  and  Japan,  is  used  for  the  same  purpose,  and  the  origin  of 
such  roof-growing,  is  thus  given  in  Mrs.  Eraser's  Book  of  Japanese 
Tales: 

"Once  there  was  a  great  famine  in  the  land,  and  it  was 
forbidden  to  plant  anything  in  the  ground  that  could 
not  be  used  for  food.  The  frivolous  Irises  only  supply 
the  powder  with  which  the  women  whiten  their  faces,  but 
their  little  ladyships  could  not  be  cheated  out  of  that". 
'Must  we  look  like  frights  as  well  as  die  of  hunger?'  So 
every  woman  set  a  tiny  plantation  of  Irises  on  the  roof 
of  her  house,  where  they  are  growing  to  this  day." 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  41 


The  following  lines,  written  for  The  United  Press,  July,  1917, 
indicate  that  if  the  present  European  War  continues  much  longer 
the  ladyships  of  other  lands  than  China  and  Japan  may  find  a 
similar  use  for  the  Iris: 

"In  France  they've  taken  all  the  rice 

To  hoard  for  food  supply, 
So  powderless  all  dames  must  go, 

Of  low  degree  or  high. 
Henceforth  each  Gallic  feminine 

Will  feel  she  looks  a  fright, 
And  shiny  noses  soon  become 
A  common  Paris  sight." 

Margaret  Mason. 

Pieces  of  orris  root  are  sometimes  placed  with  clothing  in  chif- 
foniers, trunks  and  chests,  to  impart  to  it  an  agreeable  perfume. 
The  French  peasants  string  pieces  together,  pour  boiling  water 
on  them,  and  immerse  their  bed  linen  in  the  liquid,  in  order  to 
give  it  a  pleasant  odor.  After  use  the  pieces  are  re-dried  and 
stored  awav  for  future  use. 


A  FEW  VARIETIES 

The  following  are  only  a  very  few  of  the  hundreds  of  varieties 
of  Tall  Bearded  Iris,  and  most  of  them  of  comparatively  recent 
introduction — just  enough  to  indicate  the  wide  range  of  colors  of 
the  early  and  late  varieties.  They  are  numbered  in  the  approxi- 
mate order  of  their  blooming — approximate  only,  for  situation, 
soil  and  season  are  greatly  modifying  factors — and  those  beginning 
about  the  same  time  to  bloom  are  given  the  same  number. 

In  the  description  the  figures  indicate  in  inches  the  height  of 
the  flower  stalk,  "S"  refers  to  the  three  standards  or  upright  seg- 
ments, and  "F"  to  the  three  falls  or  drooping  segments.  The  de- 
scriptions of  the  flowers  are  necessarily  only  general,  for  there  is 
hardly  any  other  flower  as  difficult  as  the  Iris,  "The  Rainbow 
Flower,"  to  either  describe  in  words  or  represent  in  colors. 

"What  skillful  limner  e'er  would  choose 
To  paint  the  rainbow's  varying  hues, 
Unless  to  mortal  it  were  given 
To  dip  his  brush  in  dyes  of  heaven?" 
Scott:  Marmion. 


42  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT  TO  HELP 


White  standards  and  falls: 

2 — Florentina  (species).     S.    creamy   white,    faintly   flushed 

lavender;  F.  creamy  white,  more  deeply  flushed  lavender, 

flaked  yellowish  white  at  base.     29  inches. 
1 — Ingeborg  (interregna).     Pearly  white;  very  large  flower. 

17  inches. 
4 — Mrs.  H.  Darwin  (amoena).     S.  white;  F.  white,  penciled 

crimson  at  base.     26  inches. 

White,  feathered  with  purple  or  bordered  with  blue: 

Anna  Fair  (plicata).     S.  white,  lightly  bordered  pale  blue; 

F.  white  with  pale  blue  marking  at  base.     36  inches. 
4 — Mad.  Chereau  (plicata).     S.  and  F.  white  with  frilled  lav- 
ender edge.     42  inches. 

5 — Fairy  (plicata).  S.  and  F.  white,  delicately  bordered  and 
suffused  soft  blue;  most  fragrant.  36  inches. 

White  or  slightly  tinted  standards,  and  purple  falls. 

4 — Harlequin  Milanais  (neglecta).  S.  white  flaked  violet 
with  white  reticulation.  34  inches. 

6 — Rhein  Nixie  (amoena).  S.  white;  F.  raspberry  purple, 
edged  white.  36  inches. 

5 — Thorbecke  (amoena).  S.  white  faintly  tinged  with  lav- 
ender; F.  deep  velvety  purple  with  white  reticulation  at 
base.  30  inches. 

5 — Victorine  (amoena).  S.  white  with  irregular  spots  of 
violet  blue;  F.  violet-blue,  upper  half  striped  white.  30 
inches. 

Purple  bi-colors: 

3 — Amas  (germanica).     S.  violet-blue;  F.  deep  purple-violet, 

flaked  white  at  base.     24  inches. 
4 — Archeveque    (neglecta).     S.   rich   violet-purple,    F.   deep 

pur  pie- violet.     24  inches. 

8 — Monsignor  (neglecta).  S.  satiny  violet;  F.  velvety  pur- 
ple-crimson, with  darker  veinings  and  lighter  margin,  and 
whitish  penciling  at  throat.  24  inches. 

6 — Oriflamme  (germanica).  S.  light  blue;  F.  dark  purple; 
exceedingly  large  flower.  30  inches. 

2 — Walhalla  (interregna).  S.  rosy  lavender;  F.  violet- 
purple,  paler  toward  the  edge.  24  inches. 

Purple  selfs.     (A)     Lavender  Purple.: 

3 — Celeste  (pallida).  S.  pale  lavender;  F.  deeper  lavender. 
A  somewhat  lighter-colored  flower  than  Dalmatica.  32 
inches. 

7 — Dalmatica  (pallida).  Delicate  lavender  with  pink  re- 
flections. Very  large  flower  and  foliage.  40  inches. 


MAKE  "THE  CITY  BEAUTIFUL"  43 


(B)  Blue-Purple: 

3 — Ciengialti  Loppio  (pallida).  S.  lavender-blue;  F.  violet- 
blue.  18  inches. 

(C)  Red-Purple: 

5 — Caprice    (pallida).     S.    reddish    purple;    F.    deeper    and 

richer.     A  good  "wine  red"  Iris.     24  inches. 
2 — Crimson   King    (germanica) .     S.    rich    claret-purple;    F. 

velvety  claret-purple.     24  inches. 
9 — Ed.  Michel  (pallida).     Reddish  purple.     Close  in  color 

to  Caprice  but  darker.     32  inches. 
2— Kochii     (germanica).     Deepest    purple.     Falls    have    a 

translucent  black  coating.     The  buds  are  soot-black.     24 

inches. 

Yellow  selfs: 

2 — Mrs.  Neubronner  (variegata).     Rich  golden  yellow,  falls 

finely  veined  with  brown  around  the  crest.     18  inches. 
Sherwin- Wright  (variegata).      Go1  den  yellow  without  any 

markings.     24  inches. 

Pale  yellow  standards  and  purple  falls: 

4 — Loreley  (variegata).     S.  light  yellow;  F.  creamy  white, 

with  purple  reticulations  blending  into  a  velvety  purple 

mass  near  the  ends  which  are  margined  with  deep  canary. 

30  inches. 
7 — Ossian  (variegata).     S.  pale  yellow,  very  slightly  netted 

purple  at  base;  F.   light  claret-red,   deeply  veined  with 

creamy  white.     31  inches. 

Deep  yellow  standards  with  purple  falls: 

3 — Darius  (variegata).  S.  lemon-yellow;  F.  amethyst  bor- 
dered and  deeply  veined  with  light  yellow.  26  inches. 

3 — Maori  King  (variegata).  S.  rich  golden  yellow;  F.  vel- 
vety maroon,  veined  yellowish  white  and  edged  yellow. 
30  inches. 

5 — Miss  Eardley  (variegata).  S.  clear  golden  yellow;  F. 
rich  madder-red,  with  yellow  edge.  24  inches. 

Shot  shades.     (A)      Yellow   the  most  obvious  color  note: 

7 — Iris  King  (squalens).  S.  bronze-yellow;  F.  rich  crimson, 
bordered  and  upper  half  veined  with  yellow;  beard  orange. 
24  inches. 

(B)     Bronze  effect: 

5 — Eldorado  (squalens).  S.  rosy  bronze;  F.  bright  violet- 
purple,  touched  down  the  sides  with  the  brown  or  yellow 
of  the  haft;  style  arms  clear  gold.  32  inches. 


44  A  REMINDER  TO  PLANT 


4 — Prosper  Laugier  (squalens).  S.  light  bronze-red;  F.  vel- 
vety ruby-purple,  with  orange  beard.  30  inches. 

Lilac  and  Rose  shades: 

6 — Isolene  (squalens).  S.  silvery  lilac;  F.  mauve,  golden  at 
the  throat,  with  yellow  beard.  36  inches. 

4 — Lohengrin  (pallida).  S.  and  F.  soft  silvery  mauve  shad- 
ing nearly  to  white  at  the  claw.  33  inches. 

3 — Mrs.  Alan  Gray  (pallida).  S.  and  F.  pale  rose-mauve; 
much  like  Dalmatica  but  earlier.  18  inches. 

3 — Plumeri  (pallida).  S.  rosy  mauve  with  metallic  sheen; 
F.  vinous  mauve,  veined  at  base.  33  inches. 

4 — Queen  of  May  (pallida).  S.  lilac-pink;  F.  lilac  blended 
with  white.  General  effect  pink.  30  inches. 

3 — Rose  Unique  (pallida).  S.  bright  violet-rose,  slightly 
flaked  white  at  base,  with  pale  red  veins;  F.  bright  violet- 
rose,  flaked  white  at  base,  with  deeper  red  veins. 


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